Gacagua, Ruto sides trade blame for alleged mercenaries taking part in demonstrations against the government after reports a cop was shot dead in Parliament
By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL
Allegations have emerged that people identified as Ugandan mercenaries have been taking part i n the ongoing demonstrations and have, in fact shot dead a police officer.
Online sources said a police officer who was attached to Parliament Buildings was shot dead during the storming of Parliament, during which several young demonstrators were also shot dead by gun toting officers, soe of who were in civilian attire.
But kit was not clear who may have imported the mercenaries as a pro-government blogger, Gordon Opiyo, claimed that there were foreign mercenaries hiding behind Gen Z, which, according to him, was a creation of an online blogging gang associated with former Nyeri MP ad current DP Rigathi Gacagua’s strategist Ngunjiri Wamnugu. Opiyoa claimed that an advance group of 20 Ugandan mercenaries broke the police cordon at [parliament, allowing the bigger crowd to invade Parliament. He claimed that the “mercenaries” were affiliated to the Bobi Wine wing in Uganda. Bibi Wine is a Ugandan politician-cum-musician who ran for President but lost to Yoweri Museveni. In Kenya, he has been associated with Embakasi MP Babu Owino, who is a personal friend. Opiypo however seemed to place the blame at the feet of DP Rigathi Gacagua in his later posts, which might either mean that this was a creation of his imagination or he did not have adequate intelligence.
But as if to rebut Opiyo’s claims, bloggers associated with Gacagua have emerged to blame the government for the use of mercenaries in the demonstrations. The use of mercenaries, including local hoodlums disguised as Gen Z protestors, appeared to hijack the demonstrations and turn them into looting episodes in various parts of the country. In Nairobi, several stores were broken into and looted while hoods riding motorcycles harassed motorists and pedestrians and robbed them. The motorcycle hoods seemed to operate alongside police officers in parts of the city, giving rise to claims that they had been hired to destabilize the demos and make them lose public sympathy.
What is clear is that the antagonistic sides in the government, one led by President William Ruto and the other by his Deputy Rigathi gacagua, are using the demonstrations, which have weakened, to drive their personal agenda. It is believed in some quarters that since Gacagua believes that Ruto will not nominate him to be his running mate in 2027, he should rush his fall so that he can take over before the end of the term, which would give him strength to run for presidency. There are others who believe that former President Uhuru Kenyatta is behind Gacagua and pursuing a personal vendetta against Ruto.
Whichever explanation one believes, the escalating situation makes William Ruto’s presidency no longer credible and he must resort to extreme measures to either gain credibility or restore order. Those extreme measures must however be and remain political since an escalation of state violence against citizens would escalate their defiance and hasten his exit.
Bu Ruto appears to be in a catch 22 situation; given Kenya’s history, the drafters of the 20210 Constitution insulated Parliament from the Executive and the President cannot therefore dissolve it as has been suggested. “The President is a mere spectator,” says layer Alfred Kiprop. “He cannot dissolve Parliament except in specific instance where it’s provided for in the implementation of the Constitution and that’s in its composition. It was this provision that former CJ David Maraga invoked when he advised President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament. That is not an option available to Ruto. The best he can do is dissolve his Cabinet and appoint a new one, which would still be vetted by Parliament.”